Disease

[RENI_HUMAN] Defects in REN are a cause of renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) [MIM:267430]. RTD is an autosomal recessive severe disorder of renal tubular development characterized by persistent fetal anuria and perinatal death, probably due to pulmonary hypoplasia from early-onset oligohydramnios (the Potter phenotype).[1] Defects in REN are the cause of familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy type 2 (HNFJ2) [MIM:613092]. It is a renal disease characterized by juvenile onset of hyperuricemia, slowly progressive renal failure and anemia.[2] [ANGT_HUMAN] Genetic variations in AGT are a cause of susceptibility to essential hypertension (EHT) [MIM:145500]. Essential hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure is consistently higher than normal with no identifiable cause. Defects in AGT are a cause of renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) [MIM:267430]. RTD is an autosomal recessive severe disorder of renal tubular development characterized by persistent fetal anuria and perinatal death, probably due to pulmonary hypoplasia from early-onset oligohydramnios (the Potter phenotype).[3]

Function

[RENI_HUMAN] Renin is a highly specific endopeptidase, whose only known function is to generate angiotensin I from angiotensinogen in the plasma, initiating a cascade of reactions that produce an elevation of blood pressure and increased sodium retention by the kidney. [ANGT_HUMAN] Essential component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), a potent regulator of blood pressure, body fluid and electrolyte homeostasis.[4][5][6] Angiotensin-2: acts directly on vascular smooth muscle as a potent vasoconstrictor, affects cardiac contractility and heart rate through its action on the sympathetic nervous system, and alters renal sodium and water absorption through its ability to stimulate the zona glomerulosa cells of the adrenal cortex to synthesize and secrete aldosterone.[7][8][9] Angiotensin-3: stimulates aldosterone release.[10][11][12] Angiotensin 1-7: is a ligand for the G-protein coupled receptor MAS1 (By similarity). Has vasodilator and antidiuretic effects (By similarity). Has an antithrombotic effect that involves MAS1-mediated release of nitric oxide from platelets (By similarity).[13][14][15]

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Blood pressure is critically controlled by angiotensins, which are vasopressor peptides specifically released by the enzyme renin from the tail of angiotensinogen-a non-inhibitory member of the serpin family of protease inhibitors. Although angiotensinogen has long been regarded as a passive substrate, the crystal structures solved here to 2.1 A resolution show that the angiotensin cleavage site is inaccessibly buried in its amino-terminal tail. The conformational rearrangement that makes this site accessible for proteolysis is revealed in our 4.4 A structure of the complex of human angiotensinogen with renin. The co-ordinated changes involved are seen to be critically linked by a conserved but labile disulphide bridge. Here we show that the reduced unbridged form of angiotensinogen is present in the circulation in a near 40:60 ratio with the oxidized sulphydryl-bridged form, which preferentially interacts with receptor-bound renin. We propose that this redox-responsive transition of angiotensinogen to a form that will more effectively release angiotensin at a cellular level contributes to the modulation of blood pressure. Specifically, we demonstrate the oxidative switch of angiotensinogen to its more active sulphydryl-bridged form in the maternal circulation in pre-eclampsia-the hypertensive crisis of pregnancy that threatens the health and survival of both mother and child.